Google Android: Software Plagued by Hacks
Google Android is one of the top operating systems, but it has seen an exponential increase in hacks over the past few months due to poor security.
Technology research company Gartner rated the Android's operating system ahead of Apple's. They also said Android operating system accounted for 52.5 percent of the smartphone market this year, compared to 15.6 percent for iOS devices.
The Android software is number one system for downloading applications, beating the numbers of the iPhone and iPad combined.
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The Android system was responsible for 44 percent of app downloads in the 2011 second-quarter. Apple accrued 31 percent of downloads over the same period.
The hackers are targeting the Android software because it is the most popular and leaves the largest amount of users vulnerable.
The numbers of hacks increased 472 percent since July with a majority of the hacks occurring in the past couple of weeks, according to the Juniper Networks report. A separate Juniper study done in May found malware attacks increased 400 percent in the previous year.
The studies also found that the hacks are a result of Google's lackluster security system.
The report said Google does not carefully examine its apps like Apple, making them an easy target for hackers.
Once the phone was hacked into, the harmful programs could send out personal information and text messages to a premium rate number, costing the users money.
The hacks have been getting worse over the past few months.
"The months of October and November are shaping up to see the fastest growth in Android malware discovery in the history of the platform," said the report.
